“One moment, one aspect of nature contains everything,” said Clause Monet of his late masterpieces, the water lily paintings on which he worked incessantly in his house between 1897 and his death in 1926. These canvases, which represent the culmination of a lifelong study of nature, are one of the most important works not only of the artist but of the Impressionist era.

On September 26, one of the first episodes of this cult series was released, Nymphs (1897-1899), will make his auction debut at Christie’s Opening night of the 20th/21st century at The Henderson, the auction house’s new Asian headquarters. Created 125 years ago, the work was owned by the Monet family for many years and is now being offered from a prestigious private collection.

The work is one of four paintings from the first Water Lilies series still in private hands, while the other four are in museum collections worldwide. With an estimate of between HK$200 million and HK$280 million (US$25 million and US$35 million), its sale will make it one of the most expensive Western artworks ever sold at auction in Asia.

Christie’s new Asia Pacific headquarters is located at The Henderson in Hong Kong, a newly designed building by Zaha Hadid Architects

Claude Monet (1840-1926) | NymphsOil on canvas

Painted ca. 1897-1899
73.3x101cm
Provenance (Consolidated by The value):

• Estate of the artist
• Private collection

Estimate: HK$200,000,000 – 280,000,000 (US$25,000,000 – 35,000,000)

Auction house: Christie’s Hong Kong
Sale: Opening night sale of the 20th/21st century
Date: September 26, 2024
Address: 6th Floor, The Henderson, 2 Murray Road, Central

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In search of a permanent residence that he could finally call home after years of upheaval, Monet and his family moved to Giverny in the spring of 1883. There he bought an adjacent plot of land near his estate to pursue his passion for gardening while building something “for the joy of the eye and also to have subjects for painting.”

The result was the now world-famous “Giverny Garden”. He demolished the existing vegetable garden and began to cultivate his peaceful retreat. He had a Japanese-style footbridge and a free-form pond built. Around the pond grew towering weeping willows, irises, trees and other seasonal flowers.

During the last 30 years of his life, Monet devoted himself to his garden oasis to depicting water landscapes. These works replaced the diverse contemporary subjects he had painted in his early artistic career with two famous motifs: Japanese bridge and water lilies.

Claude Monet in his garden in Giverny

The present garden of Giverny

On over 250 canvases, the master of Impressionism captured the changing images of the water lilies and their reflections on the pond at every time of morning, day and evening.

As the artist himself explained, this environment offered endless inspiration, “I have painted so many of these water lilies, always changing my perspective, varying the subject matter according to the season and then according to the different lighting effects that the changing seasons bring.

And of course the effect changes constantly, not only from one season to the next, but also from minute to minute, because the water flowers are by no means the whole spectacle; they are rather just an accompaniment to it. The basic element of the motif is the water surface, the appearance of which changes every moment because parts of the sky are reflected in it, giving it life and movement.

The passing clouds, the fresh breeze, the threatening or approaching storm, the sudden violent gust of wind, the fading or suddenly bright light, all these things cause, unnoticed by the untrained eye, changes in color and alters the surface of the water.”

Claude Monet | Nymphs (approximately 1897-1898) | 66.04 × 104.14 cm | Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Claude Monet | Nymphs, effect of the evening (1897) | 73x100cm | Collection of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris

In his first encounter with the subject, Monet worked on a series of eight canvases beginning in 1897, varying in format, size, color and finish, while enjoying the countless pictorial possibilities of his beloved water lily pond. Half of these works are now owned by prestigious museums around the world, including the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Kagoshima City Museum of Art and the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome.

With an impressive 73.3 x 101 cm, the present Nymphs introduces one of the most important and radical aspects of the series – the elimination of a horizon line. Its tightly focused scene places the viewer in the center of the pond, removing all other peripheral details to focus entirely on the water’s surface. These pictorial qualities became central to each phase of Monet’s Water Lilies series and served as a major influence on subsequent generations of artists.

Claude Monet | Nymphs (around 1897–1898) | 89 x 130 cm | Collection of the Kagoshima City Museum of Art

Claude Monet | Ninfee pink (1897-1899) | 81 x 100 cm | Collection of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome

Claude Monet | Nymphéas en fleur (Blooming water lilies) (approximately 1914–1917), 160.3 x 180 cm | Sold: 84.7 million US dollars, Christie’s New York, 2018, from the Rockefeller Collection

At auction, the highest price to date for Monet’s Water Lilies is a whopping 84.7 million US dollars, set by Nymphéas en fleur (Blooming water lilies) (approximately 1914–1917) from the Rockefeller Collection at Christie’s New York in 2018.

While the present lot is unlikely to break that record, it is rare for a water lily painting to be offered in Hong Kong. Once it reaches its lower estimate of HK$200 million, it will be the fifth most expensive artwork ever sold in Asia, with a final price of HK$233,375,000.

The five most expensive works of art ever sold in Asia (as of August 2024):

1. Jean Michel Basquiat | warrior (1982) | Sold: HK$323,600,000 (US$41.7 million), Christie’s Hong Kong, March 2021
2. Jean Michel Basquiat | Untitled (1985) (acrylic and oil stick on wood, in three parts) | Sold: HK$289,316,000 (US$37.3 million), Sotheby’s Hong Kong, June 2021
3. 1920s | Paulette Jourdain (approximately 1919) | Sold: HK$272,905,000 (US$35 million), Sotheby’s Hong Kong, October 2023
4. Jean Michel Basquiat | Untitled (One-Eyed Man or Xerox Face) (1982) | Sold: HK$234,290,000 (US$30.2 million), Christie’s Hong Kong, May 2021
5. Gerhard Richter | Abstract picture (649-2) (1987) | Sold: HK$214,631,000, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, October 2020

Jean Michel Basquiat | warrior (1982) | Sold: HK$323,600,000 (US$41.7 million), Christie’s Hong Kong, March 2021